This invention relates to an apparatus for bundling objects stacked in a pile, and more particularly to a bundling apparatus in which objects to be bundled are pressed by a clamping means, a band is wound around the stack of objects and the end portions of the band are superposed and bonded together, thus bundling the objects.
A conventional bundling apparatus of this type has a bundler which includes a pair of endless belts facing each other. In operation, objects, e.g., sheets stacked in a pile, are fed and held with pressure between the endless belts. As the bundler rotates, a thermal adhesive tape (coated on one side with a thermally fusible material) is supplied from a reel and wound around the stack of sheets. The tape is cut, and the end portions of the tape wound about the stack are superposed and bonded together with heat and pressure by a heater block, thereby bundling the sheets.
Various data, such as the date of bundling, the name of the checker or the classification of the sheets (e.g., the denomination if the sheets are bank notes), must be stamped on the thermal adhesive tape. As a matter of course, the data cannot be stamped until the end portions of the tape are bonded together. In other words, they cannot be stamped at the same time that the end portions of the tape are bonded together. For this reason, the efficiency of the combined operation of bundling the sheets and stamping the data cannot be enhanced.